November 17, 2014 - A Coast Guard boatcrew towed
a sea plane into port after a mechanical failure
on the plane forced the pilot to make an
emergency landing one mile off the coast of
Cape Canaveral, Thursday afternoon.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Cape
Canaveral received the initial report of a plane
crash at approximately 1 p.m., from the FAA. The
station launched a boatcrew aboard a 25-foot
Response Boat — Small to respond.

"When we got the initial report it sounded like
a plane crash and people in the water," said
Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Matella,
coxswain of the responding boatcrew.

"When you respond to something like this there's
a lot of information coming in and at some point
you kind of have to do what you're trained to
do. It was one of those 'plan for the worst,
hope for the best' kind of situations."

When the boatcrew arrived on scene they
discovered that the plane hadn't crashed, but
landed safely. There were no injuries reported
from the pilot and no damage to the plane from
the landing. The boatcrew took the plane in tow
and brought it safely into Blue Point Marina
where the pilot will make arrangements for
repairs.